


The Greatest Field Trip Ever

by RaphaelComet



Category: vtuber
Genre: Nyanners, VRChat - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-19 03:08:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29619675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaphaelComet/pseuds/RaphaelComet
Summary: Chad AKA "Chat" decides to go a school field trip to learn more about Japanese culture. The trip is led by his teacher, Ms. Nyatasha Nyanners, and he ends up being the only student going. They embark on a trip all around Japan, learning about all sorts of things.
Relationships: Ms. Nyanners & Chat
Kudos: 1





	1. I Love my Station

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired after watching Nyanners' VR Chat stream on her Twitch and wanted to do something to take a break from my usual writing. The VOD this story is based off of is no longer on her Twitch, but it was archived on her YouTube VOD channel. It's called "Nyanners VRChat Field Trip Stream". My story follows from the point-of-view of chat as we follow along with Nyanners throughout the field trip. I had fun watching it and writing the first chapter, so I hope you have fun reading it!
> 
> The title for chapter 1 was inspired from the song tetsudou-musume or is it Gata Goto Chu Chu? You know, the train song Nyanners plays during her streams sometimes.

Hello. I’m Chad, but everyone calls me by my nickname, Chat. At first, I wasn’t particularly a big fan of it as it was sort of a mockery, but I got used to it. I used to get in trouble all the time for chit-chatting during class, so the name kind of stuck. Currently, I’m a senior in high school now and close to graduating. I live in Japan and attend a school for mainly English-speaking students. It’s primarily meant for children of military personnel stationed at a nearby base. Anyway, I’ve lived in Japan for several years now after moving here as a young child thanks to my parents’ jobs. I have a loose understanding of the Japanese language, but I’m by far nowhere near fluent.

Boy, does time fly. Almost makes me want to reminisce. Soon, I’ll no longer be a carefree teen going about their daily routine in school. I guess, since you’re still here, I can tell you all about my most treasured experience during these past few years…

###

It all started a few months ago, right before I went on the best school field trip of my life. It wasn’t a normal school trip where the whole class was required to go. Instead, this was an optional trip carried out during off-school hours, like during weekends or holidays. It was meant for students who wanted to get some extracurricular experience in a more personalized learning atmosphere. There were many trips offered that focused on an assortment of topics.

Since my family was returning to the States shortly after I graduated, I wanted to get one more good look around the country I had called home for the past few years. I had barely gotten a chance to explore the surrounding area or learn about the culture, other than what was taught in school. My parents were almost constantly busy, and I wasn’t allowed to go off on my own. So, I decided to go on a Japanese culture field trip and thankfully, the school offered one. It was scheduled during a major holiday, so most students were more interested in enjoying their free time elsewhere, either partying or playing video games. Fortunately for me, that meant there were plenty of spots available on the trip.

The groups were meant to be small, around fifteen students or so, and up to two teachers acted as their chaperones, depending on how many students signed up to go. In all, there were five of us set to go on the trip plus one chaperone, but by the time the trip was upon us, all the other students dropped out. They either changed their mind about going or got sick. The school was about to cancel the trip, but the chaperone insisted on carrying on with it.

I was rather glad the teacher volunteered to stay on as I was looking forward to the trip for quite some time now. Her name was Ms. Nyanners, and she taught Japanese and Japanese culture. The teachers that chaperoned the field trips were subject matter experts in the material related to the trip’s theme, and since the trip was focused on Japanese culture, Ms. Nyanners was chosen to be a chaperone. I had her as a teacher for a couple classes, and she easily became one of my favorite teachers. In fact, she was my number one favorite. She was quirky and often tried to relate to us while she taught, and despite seeming young for her age, at least for a teacher, some students found her cringe or trying too hard. I won’t insult her by potentially guessing her age incorrectly, but I figured she couldn’t have been more than just a few years older than us, so she wasn’t that old. Instead, I found Ms. Nyanners charming and fun to be around. It definitely made learning a lot more interesting than just the normal, boring lectures and presentations the other teachers did.

Anyway, as I was saying. Ms. Nyanners thankfully talked the school into going ahead with the trip. Before the first day of the trip, she and I met one day after classes had ended to talk about the upcoming field trip. Since I was her student, and she was already familiar with me, we didn’t need to go through the initial awkward phase of meeting for the first time as strangers. I was a good student in her class and never got into trouble with her, so at least I had a good impression with her already.

During our meeting, we went over the itinerary for the field trip, what to pack- things like that. She seemed super enthusiastic about it all, and when I asked if this was her first time being a chaperone, she said no. She’d been on a couple trips before, but they were usually with larger groups which required another teacher to come along. The trips were more rigid than she wanted them to be, and she didn’t have much say in where they went, being one of the junior teachers at the school and all. Now that she was the lone chaperone, she had a lot more freedom to plan things and do as she pleased. The more I listened to her, the more excited I became to go on the trip.

#

When the day of the field trip arrived, I woke up super early to get ready. Because our train departed at an early time, I already had to wake up earlier than normal, but fortunately I had gone to bed at an earlier hour the night before. Despite initially having trouble falling asleep due to all the excitement, I eventually drifted off to sleep and had good night’s rest.

I wasn’t normally a morning person, but that day I remembered being wide awake and full of energy. I made got washed up and dressed in my school uniform. Then I made sure I had everything I needed in my bags. I had packed my luggage the night before, so I didn’t have much to check when I woke up. With bags in tow, I quickly had some breakfast then left the house to start heading towards the train station. My parents had already left for work by then, so I was on my own which I was used to.

The trip to the train station wasn’t too bad, but it was still dark out and the temperature outside was rather cold. It was winter, and there was already a layer of snow on the ground. My parents had arranged for a taxi to bring me to the train station, so at least I didn’t have to walk all the way there in the cold. During the ride, I checked to make sure I had everything I needed programed into my phone, such as the trip itinerary and Ms. Nyanners’ cellphone number in case of an emergency. I looked over the itinerary once more which only fueled my enthusiasm. Before I knew it, I was at the train station. I thanked the driver and paid the fare before retrieving my bags from the trunk. Once I had everything, I turned towards the station as the taxi drove off.

The atmosphere was rather eerie. There didn’t seem to be anyone around, save for a few staff scattered around the train station. The darkness and cold outside didn’t help things either. I looked around and didn’t see Ms. Nyanners anywhere. I began to worry, but then I thought that I was a bit early.

I was about to head towards a bench to sit down when Ms. Nyanners suddenly surprised me. She came up behind me and whispered something into my ear. I jumped but soon relaxed upon seeing her standing there with a smile. After she apologized for startling me, I followed her over to the ticket booth to retrieve our train tickets.

Ms. Nyanners talked with the attendant there while I stood off to the side. I wasn’t paying full attention to what they were talking about, but somehow Ms. Nyanners talked the attendant into giving us a tour of the conductor’s station while we waited for our train. I guess the topic of us being on a school field trip came up, and then I supposed she asked if we could get a tour as an educational learning experience. You wouldn’t think of it by just looking at her, but Ms. Nyanners was quite the train enthusiast.

After Ms. Nyanners handed me my ticket, I followed her as the attendant opened the door for us to come inside. The attendant said they normally didn’t allow tours, but since it was the early hours of the morning and things were slow, they’d accommodate us just this once. Ms. Nyanners graciously thanked them and began looking around. The attendant walked us around, and he gave us a brief explanation of how things worked. He showed us the inner workings of the office and all the relevant rooms.

At the end of the tour, the attendant brought us to where the conductors kept their equipment, and Ms. Nyanners’ eyes lit up. She went over to the table and began playing with all the items laying there. First, she pointed out the conductor hats. She then took one and placed it on her head, showing it off to me with a smile. Before I could say anything, she turned back around and picked up two of the flashlight thingies conductors used to direct people. You know, the ones with the orange cones on the end of them? She began waving them around like lightsabers as she sang the Imperial March theme from Star Wars. I was immediately embarrassed and slightly looked away, though, she was still beaming with cheerfulness.

The attendant, an older gentleman, just smiled as well at Ms. Nyanners’ antics. He simply told us not to break anything and come back to him when we were done goofing off. He then went back to the front window to man his post in case he was needed by a customer.

Ms. Nyanners continued to mimic something out of Star Wars as I looked back to her, relieved that we were alone. I think she was trying to get me to laugh, or at least smile, because she didn’t stop. She continued to giggle in-between her singing while playing around with the conductor flashlights. After that, she put the “lightsabers” end-to-end and began pretending to be Darth Maul, swinging them around as she made sound effects to go with the movements. Perhaps she was trying to get me to relax and enjoy the trip. Just because we were there to learn, it didn’t mean we couldn’t have some fun as well along the way. Her goofiness eventually grew on me as I managed to crack a smile and even chuckle slightly. Her carefree attitude and genuine expression were infectious, filling me up with a kind of friendly warmth.

Seeing me smile, Ms. Nyanners smiled as well then began to act like an idol at a concert. It was rather cute, but I didn’t dare let her know that. I was kind of glad I was the only student on the trip, or else Ms. Nyanners probably wouldn’t be as playful as she was being. Or maybe she would. Who knows?

Not wanting to risk being late and possibly miss our train, we decided to wrap things up. She took off the hat she had on and put away the flashlights back where she had found them. After we had our bit of fun, we thanked the attendant before leaving the conductor’s station. Our train was supposed to arrive soon, so we stayed outside to see any train that pulled into the station. It was still snowing a tiny bit, so we looked to a nearby fireplace to keep warm until our train arrived.

As we walked over to it with our bags in tow, she happened to see a movie poster on a nearby wall with an actor she recognized. She got distracted momentarily and went over to it, motioning me over to come look at it. I went over to her and looked at the poster, not recognizing the actor or movie. She had a good laugh about it at least, saying it was a rather cheesy movie.

While Ms. Nyanners was having a laugh about the poster, a train pulled into the station and stopped. Seeing it there, she took her bag and began heading over to it. I grabbed my bag as well and followed after her, not wanting to get left behind. As we approached the train, Ms. Nyanners double-checked the train, and it turned out that it wasn’t ours, so we returned back to the fire to stay warm until ours finally arrived.

Being her playful self, Ms. Nyanners remarked about how cold it was outside then asked if she was going to die out there in the snow. I gave her an awkward look but didn’t say anything. I wasn’t quite sure if she was being serious or if she was just teasing me. Then she looked me dead in the eye, asking if she could eat me in order to stay alive if I happened to die first. At that point, I knew she was just playing around, so I said sure which made her happy.

Remembering that the trip was supposed to be educational, Ms. Nyanners drew from her vast wealth of train knowledge and began talking about one of the first steam engines. She talked about a guy who made a steam engine on his own then challenged a horse-drawn carriage to a race. The steam engine wasn’t all that great according to her, since it was one of the first made. Actually, in her words it was a “honking piece of crap”, but that didn’t stop the man from bragging about it. When the race finally happened, the steam engine got a good lead on the hose and almost won; however, a belt or something in the train broke, allowing the horse to ultimately end up winning. The train was only going 18mph supposedly, which I thought was kind of slow, but this was back then we were talking about.

After that, Ms. Nyanners began talking about how trains were responsible for time zones being so standardized across the world. It was due to train schedules and the need to keep track of when trains were coming and going. I had no idea and found that quite interesting.

While we were talking, our train finally arrived at the station, much to our delight. It was indeed cold, and even though I had my winter jacket, hat, and gloves on, I was still able to feel the chill. Ms. Nyanners and I went over to make sure the train was headed for the right destination, and indeed it was. Once it was safe to do so, we boarded the train with our luggage and looked around.

All the while, Ms. Nyanners continued to talk about train facts, transitioning to the topic of magnetic levitation or maglev trains. They apparently used electromagnetism to operate since there was no friction, allowing them to go over 300mph. She also told me that people were quite scared about how fast the first trains were. She said that they thought if a person went over 50mph, they’d just melt or something. I thought that was odd, but then Ms. Nyanners quickly topped that as she continued on. She said that women thought their uteruses and other organs would just fall right out of them at that speed. I couldn’t help but give her an odd look, but then quickly laughed it off. She chuckled at it as well and playfully joked around, asking me if hers would fall out as we walked along in the train.

I continued to follow Ms. Nyanners through the train as we entered into the dining car. There were rows of booths with tables at them along with a bar. Some of booths had seats facing each other while others had seats facing the window. That way, passengers were able to look outside while they ate. Surprisingly, there were people already eating with all sorts of foods in front of them. We saw dishes ranging from steaks to sandwiches, as well as a wide variety of drinks and desserts. I saw someone had a rice omelet, and it looked especially delicious. Thankfully, I had already eaten breakfast before leaving the house, so I wasn’t too hungry at the moment.

As I was thinking about the omelet, Ms. Nyanners whispered to me about something looking like poop. My ears twitched and I looked over to see what she was looking at. It looked like a hash-brown or beef patty, but it indeed resembled something rather unappetizing.

Before leaving the car, Ms. Nyanners said she wanted to get something while we were there, so we found an empty booth to sit at. We got into the booth on opposite sides and kept our luggage close next to us. That last thing we needed was for them to get stolen or cause someone to trip as they walked by. Ms. Nyanners said she’d pay for something if I wanted and offered to get me some coffee. I was fine at the moment, so I politely declined the well-received gesture. She shrugged and decided to order some sort of dessert for herself. It was a chocolate Oreo mousse complete with cookies and chocolate whipped cream. We waited around for a bit until it arrived while looking at our phones.

Not before long, a server brought over the dessert to the table which looked quite decadent. Ms. Nyanners was very anxious to taste it as she took the large glass in hand. She looked to me and began pointing out all the different parts to her fancy treat. Just as she was, she fumbled with it in her hands and dropped it onto the table. The glass broke and spilled the entire dessert all over the place. I was quite shocked by the suddenness of the disaster as was Ms. Nyanners. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment as she mourned the loss of her dessert. The commotion caused everyone in the car to look over at us which only increased Ms. Nyanners’ embarrassment. An employee came over to see what happened, and Ms. Nyanners explained that she had dropped her dessert accidentally. The employee offered to get her a new one, but Ms. Nyanners said it was all right and began gathering her things. She motioned me to follow her as another employee came over to clean everything up. She was too embarrassed to remain there, so we made our way into the next car.

From the dining car, we entered a passenger car filled with booths similar to the ones in the previous car. Each booth had a table in the middle and enough seating to comfortably sit four people. Ms. Nyanners looked around and found an empty one, so we made our way over to it. It was towards the opposite side of the car, and I figured she wanted to put as much distance between us and the people of the dining car. We stowed our luggage and bags away before settling in for the remainder of the train ride. Again, she took one side of the booth while I sat in front of her on the other side of the table.

I was about to pull out my phone again to check something when Ms. Nyanners began talking to me. I put my phone back into my pocket and looked to her, wondering what she was going to talk about next. It was more train trivia, and like most of the others, it was a strange one. Apparently, there were a lot of stray dogs in Moscow, and said dogs had learned the train routes and schedules to travel around. They learned over time that at certain stops or whatnot, there was food for them when they got off. I found it hard to believe, but that was she had read once according to her, so I guess it had to be true.

Ms. Nyanners hummed to herself while thinking then continued on with something else. Since we were on the topic of Russia, she remembered that Russia actually had the longest railway in the world. It was thousands of miles long, and it took several days to get from one end to another. That was rather long, and she said it was probably pretty boring to ride it all the way, suggesting that people most likely slept during a ride like that.

Right after that, Ms. Nyanners transitioned into another train-related fact. Apparently, Australia had the longest stretch of straight railway in the world. It was roughly 300 miles of uninterrupted, straight train tracks with no curves in it. After hearing about that, I figured that had to have been a rather dull trip as well. There probably wasn’t much to look at in the Australian outback, but who was I to tell? I didn’t really know much about the area and had never been there myself.

Before I could ponder what sorts of things I’d see on that trip, Ms. Nyanners had already moved on to talking about something else. This time, we were in China, and she was talking about some of the fastest trains in the world. Back to the topic of maglev trains, she said that China had a maglev train that went around 600 mph.

After that, Ms. Nyanners figured I had had enough train facts for now, so she remained quiet and pulled out the trip itinerary to review. While she was doing that, I pulled out my phone to check for any messages, but since I barely had any friends, there were no new notifications. The few friends I did have were probably still sleeping anyway, so I wasn’t too surprised. The rest of the train ride was pretty uneventful, the two of us keeping to ourselves in the booth.


	2. Let Us Commence Forth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter's title was inspired by one of Froot's meme videos "Bri'ish?! (Let us commence forth) [Froot]" on YouTube. I had that in my head during the time of writing and couldn't get it out, so there you go.

After the remainder of a peaceful and relaxing train ride, Ms. Nyanners and I soon arrived at the first stop on our trip, Kyoto. The city was considered the cultural capital of Japan and featured a wide variety of tourist destinations, some of which included Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, and gardens. Some places were even listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.

When it was safe to disembark from the train, Ms. Nyanners and I gathered our bags and stepped onto the adjacent platform. It was still a little chilly out, but at least the sun was rising in the sky to give us some additional warmth. Ms. Nyanners was in high spirits as she gave me a friendly smile, telling me how much fun we were going to have. I sheepishly smiled back, saying that I was looking forward to it all.

Eager to get going, Ms. Nyanners motioned for me to follow her as we left the platform, making our way to the front of the station. We were first headed to the hotel to check-in and drop off our bags, which was good. I didn’t feel like toting my travel bag wherever we went while walking all around Kyoto.

The school had booked us a nice room at a ryokan, which was a type of traditional Japanese inn that typically featured tatami-matted rooms, communal baths, and other public areas to socialize. Since the field trip was originally planned for five people, the school had already allocated funds to accommodate that size of a group. The hotel arrangements had already been reserved in advance, so it would’ve been too much of a hassle to change them.

Since it was just Ms. Nyanners and I, we had the room all to ourselves. I was happy for that and didn’t complain, but I was a bit nervous about sharing a room with her just by myself. Of course, I was going to be on my best behavior, and there was no way I was going to do anything to get myself into any trouble.

The hotel was a bit far to walk to from the train station, so we needed to find a taxi to get there. It was located closer to the older part of town, so it allowed us to just walk from the hotel to most of our destinations. Ms. Nyanners was able to flag down a taxi for us, and we got in after stowing our bags away in the trunk. After telling the driver where we were headed, we were on our way.

During the short drive to the hotel, Ms. Nyanners told me all about the city’s vast history and culture. It was almost sensory overload as I tried to listen to her talk while also taking in the sights. There was just so much to see as we drove along through the city streets.

When we arrived at our destination, Ms. Nyanners took care of the taxi fare while I retrieved our bags from the trunk. The area around us was a stark contrast to the one we first started our journey in. The buildings and architecture were more rustic and traditional in nature. It was almost like stepping into a whole new world. After I handed Ms. Nyanners her bags, we entered the hotel together.

As we came into the lobby, it was pretty modern, but it also retained a bit of a rustic appeal to the interior design. The hotel itself was a lot newer than its neighboring buildings, but its outer facade still retained a rural feel to it. It didn’t stand out too much as to not ruin the aesthetic of the surrounding area, which I found nice. We quickly glanced around, then I followed Ms. Nyanners over to the front desk.

Ms. Nyanners took the lead and approached the attendant there who was an older gentleman. After the usual greeting, she explained that we had a reservation there, and the attendant began typing away on his computer’s keyboard to check. While he was doing that, Ms. Nyanners noticed a large bottle of hand sanitizer on the counter and decided to clean her hands. When she pushed down on the spout to get a little squirt on her hand, it shot out with a surprising amount of force which surprised her. She gasped then looked to me, pointing to the hand sanitizer bottle with an astonished look while asking if I saw that. I gave her a perplexed look, and she demonstrated it again, causing a bit more of the clear liquid to shoot out from the top of the bottle. She let out a small laugh as she got a little more on her hands and began rubbing them together. I just smiled awkwardly as I used the bottle as well, cleaning my hands with the clear gel. It was rather nice actually as it had hand moisturizer in it along with a nice scent.

The attendant checked us in to the hotel’s system and handed over our room keys, which were simple plastic cards. Ms. Nyanners thanked him and retrieved them before turning to me. She pocketed hers then handed me mine, telling me not to lose it. Even though that didn’t need to be said, I just acknowledged her and took the key, securing it in an empty slot in my wallet.

While we were in the lobby, Ms. Nyanners continued to look around and spotted a rack of travel guides nearby. She walked over to it and picked one to look at, nonchalantly flipping through the pages. I went over and stood beside her as she began looking through the magazine. As she was doing that, I spotted a little stack of maps on a ledge beside a couple public payphones. I glimpsed over at them but didn’t see anything of much interest. Ms. Nyanners, on the other hand, seemed to find a thing or two of particular interest to her, but she kept it to herself. After she was done perusing the travel guides, we continued to meander about.

On the way out of the lobby towards the guest rooms, we passed by some food advertisement posters which caught Ms. Nyanners’ eye. Once again, we got side-tracked and stopped to look them over. It wasn’t like we were in any rush, so all the distractions didn’t bother me. The food the posters were advertising looked quite appealing and made me slightly hungry. One was for a BBQ place while another one featured sukiyaki.

Beside the posters, there were a couple of vending machines as well. One was a drink machine while the other offered cup ramen. The drink machine had Mad Coffee, Virtual Gold, Monster, and a few other things, but it didn’t have anything I liked. That was one thing I was going to miss when I moved away from Japan. I heard that the U.S. didn’t have as many vending machines around as Japan did, and the ones they did have weren’t all that interesting.

Ms. Nyanners contemplated getting something to drink but ultimately decided against it, so we continued on and looked for our room. There weren’t that many rooms to begin with since it was a small inn, so it wasn’t difficult. We checked the room numbers on the wall beside the doors, and we eventually arrived outside ours. Ms. Nyanners used her keycard to open the door, and after it was unlocked, she opened it and stepped inside.

I followed Ms. Nyanners in, and I was surprised by how nice the room was. It was quite large complete with a central seating area with a table in the center, a TV area in the back corner of the room, and a sleeping area towards the back. Of course, the room also came with a bathroom and had a closet.

Before venturing further into the room, Ms. Nyanners noticed some maps of Japan on the wall near the door. Some showed general information about Japan like streets and city names while others had points of interest for tourists. Most of it was in Japanese, so Ms. Nyanners did a lot of the reading as she pointed out some things for me. Beside the maps, there was a diagram outlining the evacuation plan in case of emergencies at the hotel. She told me to take note of it before walking off further into the room. I took a quick look at it then followed after her.

Ms. Nyanners looked around the room then noticed something was off about the sleeping area. Instead of the several smaller futons that were supposed to have been prepared for the group, there was just one large one in the center. She gave it a curious look and went over to the small closet, checking to see if the rest of the futons were there but they weren’t.

While Ms. Nyanners was looking around in the closet, I spotted the lone futon and was confused. I asked her where the rest of the futons were, and she said she wasn’t sure. She then quickly followed up, saying she claimed it for herself and that I could just sleep on the bare floor. When she saw that I was perturbed, she reassured me that it was probably just a mix up, and she was going to deal with it later. I was relieved because I really didn’t want to sleep on just the mats. I figured she was just kidding anyway, you know, being her and all, but deep down, I also kind of wanted to share the futon with her. I mean, not in a lewd kind of way! I meant just sleeping on opposite sides of it together. Oh what was I thinking? She was a teacher and I her student. It was probably just my teenage hormones diluting my brain, so I quickly put it out of my mind and continued with my business.

With the sleeping arrangements out of the way, I found a spot to set down my bags. Ms. Nyanners was checking out the bathroom while I took a moment to lighten my backpack, taking out everything I didn’t need during the walking tour. I only kept the essentials like my notebook, writing utensils, my water bottle, and a few other items. It was a small backpack, but the lighter it was, the more comfortable it was going to be while we walked.

Once we were ready to go, we grabbed our things and prepared to head out. I made sure I had everything I needed in my backpack then followed her out of our room. The weather outside was warming up, and it was quite pleasant to walk around in. The sun was shining bright and the air was still, so no nippy winter wind blowing in our faces.

Ms. Nyanners took the lead as she followed a map on her phone with particular points of interest marked on it. During the beginning portion of our walk, she still had trains on her mind, and she decided to talk more about them before we got to the main portion of the tour. She casually began telling me about the longest train tunnel which was located in Switzerland.

Not before long, we entered the older part of town, and she transitioned to talking about topics more relevant to what was around us. She began pointing out various examples of architecture and telling me what era they were from. Along with that, she explained the history about some shrines we passed and other cultural sites. She was very knowledgeable and answered almost every question I had.

During our walk, I made sure to take notes from time to time in my notebook. As part of the field trip, I had to write daily summaries of what I had learned that day, and then at the end of the trip, I had to compile it all into a full report about the trip. That was the school’s way of making sure the students were learning something while on the trips and not goofing off. I didn’t mind it, so I made sure to jot down enough information to make my daily summary easier to write later on.

When it was nearing lunchtime, Ms. Nyanners decided to turn around and head back to get something to eat. There wasn’t much in terms of restaurants or eateries where we were currently located, so we had to look elsewhere for food. We circled around and took a route that led us back to the area where our hotel was.

By the time we finally got back to the more modern part of town, my feet were beginning to ache. I hadn’t walked around that much in a long time, and I was by no means out of shape. At least there was no snow or ice on the ground, so that was a plus. Ms. Nyanners, on the other hand, was still full of energy and didn’t miss a beat. She kept up a brisk pace which I was beginning to struggle to match.

Looking around, Ms. Nyanners and I decided to just stop by a fast food place to eat lunch. It was cheap, and we were in the mood for something quick. We ordered our meals then found somewhere to sit and eat. Lunch was pretty uneventful as we both dug in to our food.

In-between bites, I double-checked my notes and wrote down things I had missed before I forgot them. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ms. Nyanners watching me for a bit, but she didn’t say anything. When I looked up, she diverted her gaze away to focus on something else. Maybe there was something on my face? I couldn’t tell. I didn’t think much of it and just brushed it off. After finishing up, we cleared our table and left the restaurant.

When we began walking again, I continued to follow Ms. Nyanners and thought we were headed back to the old part of town. There was still lots to see and places we hadn’t been to yet. We were headed in the same direction until she made a detour, and we began heading in the opposite direction. I asked her where we were going next, but she just told me it was a surprise. I gave her a curious look, but I didn’t press the issue. I trusted her, and things were going just fine so far.

We continued to walk for a few more blocks before we reached our destination. When Ms. Nyanners finally stopped, we found ourselves standing outside a cat café called the Cat Lovers Paradise. I asked her if we were in the right place, and she assured me we were. She said that since it was just the two of us, it was okay to take detours every now and then. She had found the place in the travel guide she was looking at earlier, and she wanted to check it out.

Before we went inside, Ms. Nyanners stepped closer to me and looked me directly in the eye, asking in a serious tone if I was going to “NARC” on her when we got back to school. I nervously shook my head and said I wouldn’t. She kept her eyes locked on mine for a moment longer then smiled, returning to her usual cheerful disposition. She then opened the door which made a little jingle sound and motioned me into the cafe. I gave her a nervous smile and quickly made my way inside followed by her.

Inside the cat café, I was immediately greeted by a cat walking right in front of me which was a surprise. I had never been to cat café before, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought maybe it was just a cat-themed café or something like that, but there was more to it. The café had stray cats that roamed around freely, and customers were able to interact with them. The main goal was to get the cats adopted, so interaction was encouraged. Fortunately for me, I wasn’t allergic to animals, so having all the cats around didn’t bother me in the slightest. To be honest though, I was more of a dog person, but cats were all right in their own way. Unsure of what to do, I just stood there awkwardly as I looked around.

Beside me, however, Ms. Nyanners was instantly overjoyed at the sight of all the cats roaming around the place. She told me to relax and that everything was going to be all right. We were just going to get a snack and hang around for a little bit. She then began making her way over to the front counter, so I followed behind her.

Ms. Nyanners quickly perused the café’s menu and ended up ordering a tall chai latte. While she was at the register, she looked to me and asked if I wanted anything. She was willing to pay for it and insisted that she do so. Perhaps she was trying to buy my silence with a little treat to ensure I didn’t rat her out, but I’d never do that anyway. It wasn’t like we were going anywhere inappropriate. In the end, I relented and asked for a hot chocolate. It was something simple, and it’d keep me warm during our ensuing walk. Ms. Nyanners turned back around and added my drink to her order. After paying for everything, we stood off to the side and waited for our drinks to be prepared.

Ms. Nyanners’ drink arrived first followed by mine shortly after. Ms. Nyanners took the hot chocolate then turned towards me. Unexpectedly, she brought the cup close to my mouth, playfully telling me to say “ah” so she could pour some in as if I needed help drinking. I immediately blushed from the embarrassment and turned my head away. She giggled and said she was just playing around, withdrawing the cup and handing it to me in normal fashion. I thanked her for the drink and took it, taking a sip from the cup on my own.

The hot chocolate was pretty good and had a nice, rich flavor. It wasn’t like a cheap, store-bought hot chocolate that came in a packet and mixed with simple hot water. No. Instead, the drink was very creamy and used steamed milk as the base. Very classy. I wanted to drink more, but it was still a bit too hot to drink normally.

After having some fun at my expense, Ms. Nyanners smiled and took her own drink in hand, but she decided to gulp it down instead of sipping it, almost burning herself in the process. She quickly stopped and remarked that she shouldn’t have done that. I chuckled to myself, seeing it as a bit of karma for trying to embarrass me earlier, but I quickly felt sorry for her. I asked if she was okay, and she said she was fine. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and smiled meekly.

Ms. Nyanners took another sip of her drink then walked off to play with the cats. A little table with a tea set prepared on it caught her attention at first, but then she spotted a little kitten adjacent to it on the ground. She was immediately smitten by its cuteness and went over to pet it. She crouched down beside it and started petting the little thing on the head with her free hand. Meanwhile, I just casually followed her and stood off to the side. Sure cats were cute, but I didn’t feel like petting them at the time. Instead, I just watched and let Ms. Nyanners have her fun. She was really enjoying herself, and it was nice to see her interact so adorably with the cats. I guess that was my treat and what I’d find enjoyment in while I was there.

I continued to follow Ms. Nyanners around the café as she went from cat to cat, petting almost everyone single one of them. When she went over to a cat tree, which was like a vertical cat play area thing, she found a cat that resembled one of the ones she had. She said it looked like her cat Knightly, which was short for Knight Artorias, a character that she really liked from the video game Dark Souls. She gave it a little love then noticed a cat picture on the wall. It was a cat with glasses, and she said it looked rather funny.

Elsewhere in the café, Ms. Nyanners found a large cardboard cutout of a cat character. It had a hole where its face would be, so it was probably meant for customers to take their picture with. Ms. Nyanners wanted get her picture taken, so she handed me her phone before going over behind the cat character. She got into position and placed her face in the hole, smiling gleefully. It was probably not a good idea to have photographic evidence of our little detour, but oh well.

I readied Ms. Nyanners’ phone and got her perfectly in frame, making sure everything was in focus. I gave her a little countdown then snapped her picture. I took a few shots to make sure I got at least one good one in. She politely thanked me then came back over to me, taking her phone back to check out my handiwork.

We decided that we’d spent enough time at the café and prepared to head out. As we headed to the exit, Ms. Nyanners saw a small, round table that we had missed upon entering the café. It had several tiers, and it was used to show off all the food options the café had to offer. The food on display were all fake, but that was a normal practice in Japan for eateries. Restaurants usually had fake food displays in their front windows to show what was offered, and I guess it was also used to entice people to come eat there.

Ms. Nyanners was intrigued by the displays and stopped once more to take a look at them. The dishes were mainly desserts and included donuts, eclairs, and little slices of cake among other things. They all looked so good and normally I’d be all over them, but I had my hot chocolate to keep me satiated for the time being.

While we were looking at the food, I asked Ms. Nyanners where we were headed next. Since she was in complete control of what we’d be doing, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. If we were going off the itinerary, however, then the Kyoto Aquarium was supposed to be the next stop. She placed down the plate she had in her hands then took out her phone. She took a moment to think then said we were going to the aquarium after all. I was relieved as I’d actually been looking forward to that. The ocean and sea creatures interested me, at least, a lot more than old architecture anyway. We finished up our drinks then left the café to take a taxi over to our next destination.


End file.
